Women's Cross Country

Blazer Women Claim 2018 NECC Cross Country Championship; Men 3rd

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Dean men and Elms College women took home New England Collegiate Conference cross country titles on Sunday at the championship race at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

Each of Dean's top five runners finished in the top 20 in the men's race, led by a third place finish by Ryan Glynn (Abington, Mass.), who ran the 8k course in 29:46. Ross Rubin (Annandale, Va.) finished sixth in 29:58 and Yurly Buttrick (Georgetown, Mass.) came in eighth in 30:22 to round out three top-10 finishers for the Bulldogs.

Southern Vermont finished second in the men's race led by a second-place performance from Caldwell Holden (Weare, N.H.), who finished in 29:27. Davante Smith (Ellenville, N.Y.) also finished in the top five for SVC taking fifth in 29:55. Mountaineer head coach Jarrett Blankenship was voted the NECC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after the meet.

Elms College took third in the men's race led by NECC Rookie of the Year Ricky Elmer (Chicopee, Mass.) who took fourth individually in 29:50. Donald Cianciolo added a 12th-place finish for the Blazers, finishing in 31:40. The Blazers were followed by Newbury in fourth place, led by a 10-place individual finish from Geralson Withrow (Mystic, Conn.) who finished in 31:16.

Mitchell's David Still (New London, Conn.) claimed NECC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year honors after winning the men's race in 28:39. Still was the only men's runner to break 29 minutes on the 8k course and finished 48 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. The Mariners finished fifth as a team.

Four Blazer women finished in the top 12 of the 40-woman race to lead Elms to the championship. Tyana Medina (Springfield, Mass.) led the Elms pack with a fourth-place individual finish, running the 5k course in 22:14. Emily Guillerault (East Granby, Conn.) took sixth in 22:26, Keara Moulton (Ashburnham, Mass.) finished 10th in 23:12 and Julia Trezza (Wilbraham, Mass.) took 12th in 23:23. First-year coach Jill Bigos earned NECC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year recognition for her efforts.

Lesley finished second in the women's team standings with three runners in the top 10. Nicole Footer took second for the Lynx in 21:34 while Anne Cooper (Harvard, Mass.) finished fifth in 22:17 and Kayla Ranere (Danbury, Conn.) finished seventh in 22:44.

Newbury took third, led by an eighth-place performance from Averie Greeley (Ledyard, Conn.) who ran in 22:51. The nighthawks were followed by Eastern Nazarene, which boasted the NECC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year Rodelina Kingsley, who won the women's race in 21:10. Kingsley also claimed Rookie of the Year honors among NECC women.

Bay Path finished fifth, highlighted by a third-place individual finish from Briana Serrao, followed by Mitchell and Dean.